Obama fundraising shakes up Dems' race

John McCormick, Mike Dorning and Jill ZuckmanTribune staff reporters

Sen. Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he has raised nearly asmuch money as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton this year, bringing in $25 millionfor his presidential bid from a wide array of contributors, shakes up the raceand makes it clear no Democrat will enjoy the early dominance the former firstlady had been trying to establish.

Clinton, who raised $26 million in January, February and March, may nowhave to re-examine her strategy for fundraising and otherwise buildingsupport, which had been based on the idea that she was the overwhelmingfavorite for the Democratic nomination. Obama's fundraising has largelydispelled that notion, showing his ability to appeal to a large number ofdonors, who in many cases made small contributions online.

Now that Clinton, Obama and other top candidates have demonstrated thatthey can raise the millions needed to run a national campaign, it also mayallow another important contest to begin. That's a contest of ideas andpersonality, something no campaign treasury, no matter how vast, can buy.

The Clinton campaign had been bracing for the Illinois senator'sfundraising news for weeks, building expectations that he would put togetheran impressive total. And if her operatives ever expected to outmuscle theiropponents with money and organization, they now say they understand thatwinning the nomination is likely to take time, sweat and patience.

"Anyone who can put together $25 million in a quarter comes off as a veryserious and credible candidate," said Chris Lehane, who was the spokesman forVice President Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000. "Enough people havebeen around the block in the Clinton world that they understand this is amarathon, not a sprint."

Clinton's campaign said it is on pace with its goals and has no plans tomake adjustments, despite raising only slightly more than Obama.

"We are thrilled with our historic fundraising success and congratulateSen. Obama and the entire Democratic field on their fundraising, whichdemonstrates the overwhelming desire for change in our country," Clintoncampaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said.

Had the New York senator been able to raise far more than her competitors,it might have helped her build the kind of inevitability enjoyed in 1999 bythen-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, whose fundraising dominance helped drivechallengers from the contest and secure the Republican nomination.

More Obama donors

Obama, who reported nearly twice as many donors as Clinton, may have raisedmore for the primary campaign than Clinton, although that cannot bedefinitively known because her campaign has refused to say how much of itstotal is designated for the primary campaign and how much would be used for apossible general election bid.

"It's stunning," said Lou Susman, a Chicago investment banker who worked asSen. John Kerry's national finance chairman and now is a senior Obama adviser."Under any set of circumstances, we outraised her for the primary."

Outsiders said they, too, were impressed by Obama's total.

"Sen. Obama stood toe-to-toe with Sen. Clinton and showed he had a broadfundraising base," said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at ColbyCollege in Maine who specializes in campaign finance.

Obama raised $6.9 million -- more than a quarter of his total -- over theInternet from more than 50,000 donors, a base of supporters his campaignhopes to cultivate into regular givers. His campaign said 90 percent of theonline contributions were for $100 or less.

All of the campaigns are aggressively courting online donors, partlybecause they contribute more efficiently to a campaign's bottom line, withoutthe cost of holding fundraising events or even postage.

Joe Trippi, who managed Howard Dean's Democratic presidential campaign in2004, said the number of donors a candidate attracts can be an important gaugeof future fundraising potential. "If you have the same amount of money, butmore donors, fewer of them have maxed out," he said.

Campaign finance law sets a maximum individual contribution of $2,300 to acandidate for the primary season and another $2,300 for the general election.

Trippi said the fundraising totals showed all of the major Democraticcandidates showed sufficient strength to power their campaigns forward andcautioned against reading too much into the precise rankings of their totals.

"John Kerry did not come in first in the first quarter last time, and Deancame in last," Trippi said. "People who have raised the most or second-mostbefore have faltered."

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards led Democratic primary candidatesin fundraising during the first quarter of 2003. This year, he reportedraising $14 million, the third-highest total among Democrats. Clinton alsosaid she plans to add $10 million from her Senate campaign fund, bringing herpresidential total to $36 million.

Overall, Obama received contributions from more than 100,000 individuals,his campaign said. Clinton received donations from about 50,000 people, whileEdwards took in money from about 37,000 donors.

"A lot of the media has been focusing on the fact that we raised a lot ofmoney in this campaign, and they're stunned," Obama said Wednesday evening inMason City, Iowa, according to the Radio Iowa network.

His campaign said that at least $23.5 million of its first-quartercollection would be available for the primary campaign, an importantdistinction because candidates are able to raise money now for both theprimary and general elections.

The Edwards camp has said less than $1 million of his tally is designatedfor the general election.

A relative newcomer to national politics, Obama held dozens of fundraisersacross the country, including at least three that brought in more than $1million each. Some of the events drew top names from Hollywood and WallStreet.

Obama's fundraising prowess means he and the other candidates will likelyface a long, hard slog through the next year.

Super Tuesday challenge

"It shows that Obama will be able to compete with her financially throughSuper Tuesday," said Scott Reed, who was the campaign manager for Bob Dole's1996 presidential campaign.

Reed was talking about next Feb. 5, when more than 20 states will holdprimaries. Candidates will need millions of dollars to pay for saturationtelevision advertising, the costliest part of running a presidential campaign.

"With all of these states moving up and the ability to do sustained mediabuys in states not used to retail politics, you probably can't have too muchmoney," said Joe Lockhart, the White House press secretary to President Bill
Clinton.

Many political strategists believe the leading candidates will raise atleast $100 million by the end of the year. Obama's total helped boost thecollective sum for the Democrats, with the Republicans raising only abouttwo-thirds as much.

For presidential candidates, the ability to raise money is a thresholdissue, giving leading contenders credibility and a platform from which to tryto spread their message. For example, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romneybought himself a second look from the voters and the media after announcingthis week that he had raised $21 million for his Republican nominationcampaign, even though he is in single digits in the polls. He is runningtelevision ads in Iowa and New Hampshire for the second time in two months.

For Obama, the next question will be whether he can raise his standings inthe polls and maintain his support.

"Obama has obviously excited the traditional Democratic base, and we'reseeing that in his money," said Peter Brown, assistant director of theQuinnipiac University Polling Institute. "But so did Howard Dean."